Range: Kimberley Region and western Northern Territory, Australia

 

Once a species of uncertain relation to other sundews but now firmly placed in the Petiolaris group, this strange species grows in sandy humus-rich thin soils near sandstone or in mud or gravel on basalt outcroppings often under a thin layer of water. It grows up to 20 cm tall/long, forming a loose stem of spiraling leaves to 3 cm in diameter. Petioles are slender and slightly tapered toward the lamina, glabrous, and attach to the small semi-reniform lamina in lower leaves near the edge while higher stem lamina are nearly rounded and connected in a peltate fashion. Coloration may range from greenish with red tentacles to entirely scarlet, older leaves being darker than new leaves. Inflorescences may reach 5 cm tall, forming axially among the leaves and at the stem end and bearing up to 50 or more blooms. Flowers are small, with a strange four-petal arrangement and only 0.5 cm in diameter, pure white with sometimes reddish sepals. Closely related to D. banksii, this species can be distinguished by its entirely glabrous nature, changing lamina shape as the plant matures, and its large number of 4-petaled flowers.

 

Cultivation: grow in a 2:1 sand/peat soil, kept very moist and humid, with temperatures of 70-90°F, year round. Sow seeds on soil surface, and grow in strong artificial light to full sun.

 

Lifespan and reproduction: Annual. Reproduces through seeds only.

 

Sources: https://guatemala.inaturalist.org/photos/283675825 Thilo Krueger under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Lowrie et al. (2017). Drosera of the World Vol. 2. Redfern Natural History Publications.